Vice President Joe Biden touched down in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Monday after a weekend in which violence threatened a delicate deal meant to calm the crisis between Ukraine and Russia.
Biden planned to meet with the acting prime minister and president, legislators and democracy activists before returning to Washington on Tuesday. His office said that the talks would include setting up a presidential election in Ukraine next month.
The vice president also planned to announce U.S. help for Ukraine on its economy, energy and governance, a senior administration official said.
WATCH: Biden in Ukraine for meetings over violence
Foreign ministers from Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Europe agreed last week in Geneva that pro-Russian militants who have infiltrated eastern Ukraine would stand down, in exchange for limited amnesty and rights guarantees for ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
But the militants said they were bound by no such deal, and the violence continued. On Sunday, a shootout at a security checkpoint manned by the militants left three people dead.
The administration official had nothing further on the timetable for additional U.S. sanctions against Russia. The White House said last week that the U.S. wanted to see progress on the Geneva agreement in the coming days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
